Here is your season 4 writers breakdown

We’ve known that George R. R. Martin will be writing episode 2 of season 4 for quite some time. We’ve also known that Bryan Cogman will be writing two episodes this season, but not which ones. And, of course, we know that David Benioff & D.B. Weiss will be writing the bulk of the season. But now, thanks to our sources, we can reveal exactly which episodes are Bryan’s and which are David & Dan’s. Here is the Game of Thrones season 4 writer breakdown:

We certainly need a female writer, but not necessarily Vanessa. Jane Espenson did a great job with D&D on A Golden Crown. I think they even admitted she came up with “Not today” and they all wrote around it. Maybe some of the other producers credited could go into the writing process as well, so long as they didn’t think up “Pod the Rod” or “Rennick’s Guff”.

Also it will be the first time that Cogan has written Dany scenes (her scenes in Kissed By Fire were written by D and D). You know how I know this because this fellow who I’ve linked via three sources is the slave master being mobbed by slaves in the trailer. That means Cogman got his hands on some Meereen as well.

So BCog penned episode 6 and 4. 6 may well contain the siege of Meereen, 4 will have whatever happens in Craster’s keep… D&D are greedy! They kept all the best stuff for themselves with the last 3 episodes! I was expecting BCog to be the writer of episode 8.

Nice. Looks like all the filler was given to Bryan, so all the good parts would be D&Ds to ruin. I’d hate to see good parts ruined by Bryan. He’s such a cool guy.
Eh, at least there’s no Vanessa Taylor.

Jaqen is Q:
If Beniof and Weiss were really as bad as people say, how could the show have done this well?

I believe some people consider a mere tv show to be some sort of world conspiracy with the exclusive purpose of making them unhappy, instead of an artistic endeavour which, for all intents and purposes, belongs to the people who create it.

Agreed. And the directing in it was fantastic. Can’t wait to see what Sakarov has in store for season 4. My guess is the siege of Meereen for episode 6. That shit in the trailer looked on par with some of The Climb’s awesome shots.

While the Martin/Graves pairing is something to look up to, I wish we also had a Cogman/Graves pairing like last year (“Kissed by Fire”). This year Alex Graves has a huge spotlight with episodes 2, 3, 8 and 10.. major events he had his hands on! I really believe that, like Ep 4 last year (wich was also a D&D/Graves ep), this year Ep 8 especially will be quite something to behold! (RV vs. the M) Not even daring to talk about the PW, wich, from the trailer, seems spectacular!

I wonder what events Cogman will cover? Those are middle episodes.. hmm.

And regarding a female writer, totally agree. Jane Espenson did a fantastic job with “A Golden Crown”. It was the episode that got me hooked. They should bring her back. Vanessa Taylor wasn’t very good imo. She was quite OK with “Dark Wings, Dark Words”, but her episodes in S2 weren’t that good. Only the shadow baby saved ep 4 then. :(

C’mon, why not just turn this into an episode titles guesses thread? Here are mine, differing from ones from a few days ago, but whatever:

1 — The Dornish Marches
2 — Lives of Four Kings
3 — Knight of the Kingsguard
4 — The Sword in the Darkness
5 — This Lord and That Lord
6 — Hear Me Roar
7 — The Weeping Water
8 — Some Dead Man
9 — The Watchers on the Wall
10 — A Cat of a Different Cloak, or perhaps The Narrow Sea, or A Golden Chain

Don’t know if anyone noticed or if it has been posted before but I just seen that Joseph Gatt’s role on Imdb has been updated to say Thenn Warg. We knew he’d be playing a Thenn but the Warg part is new to me.

I like all of those. Though I am hoping for “You Know Nothing” for the ep. 9 title. Doesn’t seem likely compared to other episode titles though.

They also tend to make the ep. 10 title very exotic and ominous, but I don’t have any ideas… Though I do like “Hands of Gold” or the even less likely possibility “Even Moon Boy…” haha

Yeah, You Know Nothing might be best saved for another time, and “The Dornish Marches” for 4/1 seems probably to be a bit too small-bore to cover the same kind of territory as “The North Remembers” and “Valar Dohaeris” does, so it might have to be grander, even if it’s something generic like “Mother of Dragons,” or something. I think if I had a wish to be correct on one, it would be Lives of Four Kings.

Ok, realistically, at this point, what do we think about Lady Stoneheart?
I mean, she’s pretty damn important to the plot especially later in Brienne and Jaime’s story lines I don’t see how it can be left out.

Me too. Then maybe people would get off of D&D’s backs once Cogman wrote a less than stellar episode, which odds would dictate he would. For all the hate D&D receive, they have been responsible for many more great episodes than poor ones. Yet people never acknowledge those, they only focus on the few clunkers.

Shit, you’re right. You got me. First time in a while anyhow. He’s said in the past that he prefers writing more conflicted characters like Jon and Theon and has trouble with leadership-oriented ones like Robb and Dany. But you’re right, there were Dany scenes in Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things.

Yeah, the only reason I believe she will be included is because of how big a role she plays in the future of Jaime and Brienne’s storyline. If not for that I think she would be excluded from the show.

I do not understand how some perceive Lady Stoneheart as a minor, cuttable character. She was always going to be a major player no matter what, seeing as she was introduced in the friggin epilogue of the most climactic book so far. Why do that, if she was to be some background-revenge killer with no impact on any of the main (POV) characters?

It’s already been setup, with in S2E5 Catelyn swearing to Brienne that she will ask nothing of her that may bring her dishonor.

i was convinced the final scene of S3 was going to be Beric and Thoros finding her body in the river and bringing her back to life. Like she opens her eyes and screams, and then cut to black and credits. That would’ve been an insane ending to the season, but alas instead we got Dany crowd surfing. So lame. So so lame.

Yes, but…for those of us females that have been largely ignored as fantasy lovers (ie. fantasy is for teenage boys playing D&D) and for all of the fantastic female fantasy writers from the 70s on up, I would think that D & D and HBO would put a little effort into representing the true nature of the fantasy fan base.
*steps off box*

Yea idk who that guy thinks he is saying their greedy. He should be on his hands and knees kissing their shoes thanking them. I personally hate ppl who complain about them and the show as well as at grrm and telling him to hurry up and finish the books. Ppl need to respect the fact they r bringing these amazing things into one world and on tv, first world problems my friend

i was convinced the final scene of S3 was going to be Beric and Thoros finding her body in the river and bringing her back to life. Like she opens her eyes and screams, and then cut to black and credits. That would’ve been an insane ending to the season, but alas instead we got Dany crowd surfing. So lame. So so lame.

Why would they have done that? GRRM didn’t do that, either. Why ruin the surprise of Lady Stoneheart, and so early – just an episode after the Red Wedding, while everyone is still shocked by her death? GRRM smartly waited until the end of the book, after a bunch of other shocking things have happened, and people have had the time to process Cat’s death.

That depends what you mean by Oathkeeper. If you mean the scene where Jaime receives the blade from Tywin, then you’re right that will certainly be in ep. 1. The scene where Jaime gives Brienne Oathkeeper however will be after the PW/ep. 2, so there’s a good chance it could be in Cogman’s ep. 4.

I kind of have to take extreme objection to the folks who were (and still are) screaming that Lady S should have been introduced at the end of Season 3. Yes, I think she is too important to be cut from the story; and yes, you can absolutely object to Dany’s crowdsurfing (although I personally loved that scene because of Djawadi’s score and the majesty of that final shot). But there is ABSOLUTELY no way Benioff and Weiss could have resurrected her just ONE week after the Red Wedding. It would have almost COMPLETELY have undercut that episode’s impact. The SoS epilogue was so powerful precisely because Martin waited 500 pages. I’m positive that we will get a variation of that scene to close out Season 4. I understand people are impatient for all the cool stuff from the 2nd half of Storm. But I just have to vehemently disagree with the idea that she should have appeared at the end of Season 3. That just wasn’t going to happen. And I’m so glad it didn’t.

I would think after the producers of the show sent him a a poster of Ned Stark he would have given the creators/GRRM the benefit of the doubt where the story was going. Because that was his main beef with the show in season 3 and his subsequent abandoning of it; He thought he knew better than the writers of the show and Martin himself. He just comes off like an entitled prick to me.

i was convinced the final scene of S3 was going to be Beric and Thoros finding her body in the river and bringing her back to life. Like she opens her eyes and screams, and then cut to black and credits. That would’ve been an insane ending to the season, but alas instead we got Dany crowd surfing. So lame. So so lame.

It was the only disappointment of the season for me besides the Pod sex jokes.

I agree. And I am adherent that she has a role to play with Jon Snow. It would be a wonderful completion of Cat’s overall arc. Perhaps she passes her lifeforce to Jon after his “death” (after being stored in ice of course). Part of me wants her to be the Valonquar and end with hanging Mad Queen Cersei from a tree. How it will go down? I don’t know.

Summer is Coming: Jane Espenson did a fantastic job with “A Golden Crown”. It was the episode that got me hooked

literally the same, up until then I was intrigued but unsure about the show, knowing nothing about it beforehand.

Also, I’m unsure about Sakharov, I’m sure his directing is very good, but it broke the house style and precedent of Game of Thrones quite a lot in The Climb. With the climb sequence split up into three and seperated through the episode, and the final Littlefinger speech playing over him different things, including a chronological jump where he’s leaving the city. I just hope he keeps with GoT’s chronological straight forward style this time.

My hope is that LS is introduced earlier in this season, perhaps with her face partially hidden, and the reveal of who LS really is happens at the end of the season. Not sure how this would be done, given flashbacks are never used. Looking forward to massive numbers of non book readers having their minds blown, like my wife.

I have to wonder if they actually shot the LS scene during season 3 production and decided to hold off on using it until season 4. Is there a chance it will be a cold opening for season 4, or perhaps used at the end of the ep 1? (Echoing the Barristan reveal from season 3 ep 1) The problem as I see it, waiting until the END of the season is that so much time has passed, not just story time, but also real time for viewers.

At this point, I wouldn’t count on seeing the resurrection onscreen. I really do think that the Lady S reveal will be the final scene of the season, probably using the Brienne scene from Feast in place of the actual Book 3 epilogue. I’m not worried about the length of time passing; I don’t think casual viewers would have forgotten Catelyn or what happened to her. I AM, however, worried about stuff like Jon Arryn’s murder or who sent the assassin to kill Bran with Littlefinger’s knife…THAT was long ago, possibly too long. But maybe the writers will find ways to insert lines here or there as reminders.

While I personally think S4 is the better idea, there were very good points for LS to happen in S3.

1) The title was “Mhysa.” Some titles have double meanings. Robb’s last word was “Mother” as he looked at Catelyn.
2) It made thematic sense with the Brotherhood Without Banners, who had previously been talking about resurrection with Arya. And it would have showed that they were still continuing the fight after the Red Wedding.
3) “For The Realm” on the S3 soundtrack hadn’t yet (and still hasn’t) played in the show, and sounded perfect for a scene where Beric resurrects Cat.

I like this YT comment: The song is called For the Realm. The Brotherhood Without Banners fight for the realm and the good of the people. Beric will probably say resurrecting Cat is for the realm.

Me too. Then maybe people would get off of D&D’s backs once Cogman wrote a less than stellar episode, which odds would dictate he would. For all the hate D&D receive, they have been responsible for many more great episodes than poor ones. Yet people never acknowledge those, they only focus on the few clunkers.

Personally, I think season four will end with Lady Stoneheart’s introduction. The idea that some could think her a minor character who might be cut from the show is unfathomable to me, especially when they’re making characters like Ygritte or Oberyn out to be gigantic players. I envision an ending with Jon Snow’s being made Lord Commander, followed by Tyrion and Arya sailing away on their respective journeys, followed by some goofy, irrelevant, obligatory Dany scene, followed by a dark and sudden switch to a scene in which people are being hung in a dark forest or something of the like and a slow pan up to Stoneheart’s face.

Is anyone else extremely worried by the fact that the PW/Tyrion trial is being dragged out so long? Like the entire season long? There is absolutely no reason to drag out Joff’s death, Tyrion’s trial and then kinslaying for NINE episodes. I was thinking four, tops. How is he going to be sitting in a cell for 8 episodes? They’re going to have to make up an AWFUL lot of material, which really bothers me. I also don’t think there should be as much emphasis placed on this when there’s so much else going on at the Wall, the Eyrie, etc.

Also a bit disappointed about the emphasis placed on RV/M. Not an episode-ender if you ask me, just a fun little scene. Especially because most show-watchers only probably couldn’t even tell you who M is if they saw him.

1- Crossroads- it seems this scene will be happening rather early and that the Hound will survive it
2- The Bells of Baelor- the wedding is in episode 2. The episode begins and ends with the bells
3- Kingslayer- focuses and Roose, Tyrion and Jamie as well as the mystery of who really killed Joffrey (Littlefinger and the Tyrells)
4- Vengeance- some Oberyn stuff, Yara attacks the Dreadfort, Jon attacks the mutineers, Daario fights the champion of Meereen
5- Breaker of Chains- the siege of Meereen
6- Trials- Jon gets questioned by Slynt and Thorne, Tyrion’s big trial
7- don’t know…
8- The Snake and the Mountain
9- Fire and Ice/The Watcher on the Walls
10- Only a Cat of a Different Coat- Stoneheart, Only Cat, Tyrion tunes in to his dark side and offs his daddy

I strongly agree that the crowd surfing scene was by far the weakest season ender and one of the weakest episode-enders, but I think what made LS so shocking for me was just that, the shock. I think seeing it being done would completely diminish if not ruin any kind of surprise or mind-blowing associated with it. I think they’ve got to show us the finished product and then explain the “how” in season five.

Yeah, I disagree on both counts, quite vehemently. Hardly anything happened in KL last season and it was still very entertaining, and now you add Jaime and the RV to the mix. There will be plenty of intrigue in KL to fill out an entire season, even with Tyrion in prison for 7 episodes(episode 9 is exclusively at the Wall).

I guess my issue isn’t that I don’t think it will be entertaining, but that I feel like they’re missing out on some really great stuff to add and drag out some less great stuff.

But this is an issue I’ve always had with the show – it’ll never come close to the books in my mind because they tend to create and lengthen out so much irrelevant, dull material and characters and override with it and diminish big events and people. But let’s be real, it’s still better than anything else out there so I can’t really complain.

Hand of the Kingslayer:
So BCog penned episode 6 and 4. 6 may well contain the siege of Meereen, 4 will have whatever happens in Craster’s keep… D&D are greedy! They kept all the best stuff for themselves with the last 3 episodes! I was expecting BCog to be the writer of episode 8.

Dany taking Mereen in episode 6? Man that’s late, I certainely hope not. What will she do for (let’s say) 4 episodes beside making pretty eyes at Daario, the Champion of Mereen? I guess they can do the totally akward and innapropriate kiss with Jorah. My take is episode 4, Alex Graves directed Dracrays, he will direct the taking of Mereen. But it could totally be episode 6 by the way.

loki:
Nice. Looks like all the filler was given to Bryan, so all the good parts would be D&Ds to ruin. I’d hate to see good parts ruined by Bryan. He’s such a cool guy.
Eh, at least there’s no Vanessa Taylor.

DUDE! Did you watch the ”Rains of Castamere”? Cause David and Dan wrote that episode, and they hit a homerun. It wasn’t perfect (especially Dany’s part with the 3-man commando against hundreds of soldiers) but they can write some pretty good suff. And it ain’t only that episode, they can write some really good dialogue. Mhysa’s council meeting is a good exemple. But once again, only my opinion.

GreatJon of Slumber:
C’mon, why not just turn this into an episode titles guesses thread? Here are mine, differing from ones from a few days ago, but whatever:

1 —The Dornish Marches
2 — Lives of Four Kings
3 — Knight of the Kingsguard
4 — The Sword in the Darkness
5 — This Lord and That Lord
6 — Hear Me Roar
7 — The Weeping Water
8 — Some Dead Man
9 — The Watchers on the Wall
10 — A Cat of a Different Cloak, or perhaps The Narrow Sea, or A Golden Chain

With Tyrion on trial for so long, the show can focus better on KL’s expansive cast, like Tommen becoming king. For a show all about the Iron Throne, we have zero character development on our next king. I’m not even sure if most casual viewers are actively aware Joffrey has a younger brother. but I do agree with you that individually, Tyrion’s arc pacing seems blasphemous as of now.

Leo,
I do hope they use this opportunity to introduce Tommen a little more, I hadn’t thought of that. Perhaps his love of cats. I’ve been watching with a non-book reader lately and in the what… 2? Episodes that Tommen and Myrcella have been on screen I’ve been asked “who those little kids are.” I’d also like to get some more Margaery character development out of this. But I suppose I’m just worried that the overarching focus of this season will be on KL, and I feel like that is absolutely NOT the case in the second half of SOS.

As far as we know, Joff’s death won’t be dragged out. It will happen in episode 2, just three episodes after the Red Wedding. Roughly equivalent to the books: Joff’s death is nine chapters after the RW. And take into account you need episode 1 to be focused on introducing the Red Viper to the viewers. So it makes sense.
After that, a lot of stuff happens: Tyrion is accused and arrested, all of the people paid by Cersei to lie, Pycelle, Shae humiliating him, Oberyn visiting him and offering to fight for him, trial by combat, and being freed the night before execution. In the meanwhile, a lot of things happen in King’s Landing: Sansa being smuggled, Tommen’s ascension, Jaime being Lord Commander, rejecting Cersei’s advances, reintroducing a recast Gregor Clegane, Jaime sending Brienne away with Oathkeeper, etc, etc.
About the kinslaying scene, we are speculating it will be in episode 10, but we might well be in the wrong here, and it could be in episode 8. Who knows. So if we had Ned Stark in a dungeon for 3 episodes, I don’t see why we couldn’t have the Imp for 5, while a load of other wonderful stuff is on.

I don’t think Tyrion’s arc will seemed dragged out. Here’s how it might play out:

1) Set up for PW
2) PW
3) Tywin visits Tyrion in prison and makes it clear he will not help
4) Trial begins, Shae testifies against him and Tyrion realizes he’s screwed
5) Oberyn visits and agrees to be his champion
6) They gather for the second part of the trial and Oberyn announces he will champion Tyrion
7) Oberyn/Mountain fight
8) Tyrion waits for execution. Jaime visits
9) No Tyrion scene
10) Hands of gold are always cold

I find it really weird that there’s a stunning amount of hate for for D & D. It’s great that they care enough to make their authorial hand felt. Who would want show runners who’re just like ‘Yeah, anybody’ll do’. They clearly care a great deal. Some of you sound like brats.

I always like to see women getting opportunities in the industry, but I really disliked Vanessa Taylor’s episodes..Oh, the pacing ,etc. may have been fine but I thought the dialogue was definitely sub-par.

First of all let me say I love Game of Thrones and I am grateful to everyone involve in the production. That said I cannot but feel that the writers are unable to move some story lines cohesively except Kings Landing. Like many of you pointed out Kings Landing in season three had a lot of “filler”. I don’t reproach them the time spend there because, like i said, it helped move along the story nicely. Maybe it is only me, but i feel the other story lines are like clips of a story. They don’t run as smoothly as Kings Landing, and maybe that is why some fans, in there own right, criticize the writing. I just hope that in the seasons to come Game of Thrones as a whole becomes more cohesive.

There was this article in Total Film toward the end of last year that had a small preview of season 4. D and D stated that the last three episodes were their favourites, because of the events that happen in them. So it makes sense that they wanted to write them. It might also mean they made an effort to make them work, so I’m looking forward.

The one thing worth noting is for terms of pacing they should make Jaime visiting Tyrion the last scene of episode 8 and their journey through the tunnels all the way to “Hands of Gold” the first, at least one of the first scenes of the finale. I mentioned this issue somewhere else, but Tywin’s funeral should be in the same episode. Otherwise Charles Dance will be called back for 501 just to play his corpse, which would be ridiculous. They might as well establish Cersei’s paranoia at the end so they can jump right into it next season. His death would also be the tipping point that weakens the Lannister’s grip on the realm, thus an ending more than a beginning.

Also, I’m unsure about Sakharov, I’m sure his directing is very good, but it broke the house style and precedent of Game of Thrones quite a lot in The Climb. With the climb sequence split up into three and seperated through the episode, and the final Littlefinger speech playing over him different things, including a chronological jump where he’s leaving the city. I just hope he keeps with GoT’s chronological straight forward style this time.

I am not sure it has anything to do with directorial choices. The split climb sequence was an editing choice. As for the final speech, it could have been scripted that way.

Anyway, I’m all for a bit more experimentation with the visual format of the show. They could be a little bolder and more free-form with how they approach direction, editing, camerawork, etc.

Oh no!!! I was hoping the PW would be ep 4-5 I don’t want Joff to go in episode 2 only, so soon!! I always hoped they’d keep him atleast till episode 5!! I will miss Jack Gleeson so much on this show!! But I’m sure he’s given us his best in those moments up to the end!! Cant waitt!! bring it on!

Valyrian Plastic,
They could show his corpse on the bier without a close-up on his face. The crossbow in the toilet is pretty climactic, and it should come after buildup through episode 10, letting 8 end with the exciting climax to the duel.

This is a murderer’s row of directors and writers. D&D are great, though I hope Cogman rapidly ascends to maybe a third episode next year or a second episode for Martin. Who’s to know who wrote what with credits and editing being murky, but Cogman really seems to be able to be faithful while breathing it into televised life.

My concerns:
– A line where Pod confesses to Brienne he knew all along Tyrion had paid the prostitutes to return his money. He didn’t say he knew because he knew how much it meant to Tyrion. This would tie in with Tysha stuff and reveal the long con for that tonally off bit of comedy.
– Jon Snow is tormented all season long by a revenge-obsessed eagle. It’s just such a damn cool thing to have to worry about. “I live on a 700-hundred foot wall and there’s an eagle who’s trying to kill me.” Also, Jon is revealed to have been taking muscle relaxers, explaining why he’s so sleepy all the time.
– Actually, what would be best for the character would be for him to always be in a state of panic, the mode Harrington sells best. Events should make this easy.
– Jaime should threaten to cut Bronn’s tongue out if he talks.

It would make sense just to use a dummy, but they can be tricky to get right (take Ned’s head for example). I just imagined they’d do the same thing as when Renly died and Gethin had to play his corpse for one scene (which they’ll hopefully do with Jack Gleeson too, give him 3 credits this year). Having the funeral in 501 would mean they’d technically have to pay Charles Dance for playing Tywin’s corpse, and fair enough, playing dead is actually a challenging thing to do. Of course they could work around it with a dummy, but I think Charles could act “Tywin’s smile” even better. That’s a moment I hope they can keep in, even if it’s lost some of its significance through the Harrenhal arc.

GreatJon of Slumber:
C’mon, why not just turn this into an episode titles guesses thread? Here are mine, differing from ones from a few days ago, but whatever:

1 —The Dornish Marches
2 — Lives of Four Kings
3 — Knight of the Kingsguard
4 — The Sword in the Darkness
5 — This Lord and That Lord
6 — Hear Me Roar
7 — The Weeping Water
8 — Some Dead Man
9 — The Watchers on the Wall
10 — A Cat of a Different Cloak, or perhaps The Narrow Sea, or A Golden Chain

Again, the second one is bad. What don’t we just call it “A Purple Wedding” ?

Not really. That can be saved for season 5, where it’s more relevant. There are a million better names than “Wherever Whores Go” for this season’s finale, and giving it that name would just be bad IMO. Not that it matters that much, it’s just a name.

I think a lot of the complaints, that people express oversome of the writing would have could have been easily satisfied by making the directors of the individual episodes read the books. Its not that the scripts are missing some of the little touches that readers I’m looking for, it is that the directors don’t know what to give a nod to – and I are extremely focused on just bringing the script to life and being faithful to that work.I think what people really seem to like about Brian Cogmans episodes are the hints and winks to the source material. if Neil Marshall for example spend the night before directing Blackwater, listening to the 3 audio book chapter is over and over and over again we would have seen a whole helluva lot more red and green apples.

The script should be their bible, not the books. The aim of the show isn’t to make a small minority of book readers happy with winks and nods, that shouldn’t be the focus for the directors either. Not to mention that it just causes confusion when changes have to made and motivations and context is different between the books and the script.

By providing a female point of view. By representing females who write fantasy fiction. By showing the powers that be in media that fantasy is not exclusively a teenage boy’s genre. Thought I was pretty clear. Vanessa Taylor is not the only female tv writer on the planet. Someone already mentioned Jane Espenson who I know successfully writes SF (I haven’t seen the other show this person mentioned). As a long-time female fantasy fan, I’d just like to see a successful female writer on the team. Call it a token.

The script should be their bible, not the books. The aim of the show isn’t to make a small minority of book readers happy with winks and nods, that shouldn’t be the focus for the directors either. Not to mention that it just causes confusion when changes have to made and motivations and context is different between the books and the script.

1) Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
2) No stranger to Valyrian Steel
3) A Calm land, a peaceful people
4) The White Book
5) Oathkeeper
6) All men must die
7) Only Cat only in reference to Lysas death. Lady Stoneheart is probably going to get cut
8) Elia of Dorne
9) Castle Black
10) Wherever whores go

If LS gets cut, can you explain Brienne’s journey? There have been sightings of her filming with Pod in Iceland. The only payoff in that storyline is Lady Stoneheart, and there’d be no point in even going there with Brienne if Stoneheart was cut.

Also, I reject any suggestion that episode 3 should be named anything but Kingslayer.

ETA: Also, Oathkeeper should be the name of the episode where Jamie gives the sword to Brienne, whichever episode that is.

Hm, I just really thought the model in S1 with more guest writers simply worked better. And given D&D can’t possibly be getting LESS busy I would think they could use the extra time spent on writing to do things like plan the next season.

More guest writers? There were 5 writers in Season 1 (including Jane Espenson, who only co-wrote an episode), 5 writers in Season 2, 5 writers in Season 3. D&D actually wrote the most epiosdes in Season 1, as they wrote 7 and co-wrote 1 with Jane. This season they have 4 writers. They haven’t really changed their model much at all.

Anyone think Stoneheart will be POV in WoW? Also I think there is no way she’ll be cut from the show. 100% it’s end of e10 reveal as she pulls her hood off, then bam credits pop. They cant have her doing tons of scenes next year and keep it secret. Plus Fairley has been weird when people ask her about it.

Yes!!! This is exactly the final scene I’ve been picturing.
Also I don’t know that what she’ll be doing will be vital enough to the main storyline for her to be a POV, but I also feel like she has to be because she’s gotta have so much to say.

And I don’t know, I don’t see the point of GRRM bringing her back and giving up Dondarrion for her unless she’s got a big role to play yet.

Hand of the Kingslayer,
Bahh I hope not; I don’t want to wait that long! I also feel like it’s more of a season ender than a season beginner sort of thing. I thought they might have even done it earlier than S4E9 because in the trailer we’ve got that scene where Jon says “the wildlings will roll over everything and everyone” etc and he certainly looks like an LC in that glimpse. I also feel like Jon has so much going on in seasons five and six already. Especially six but that’s later on But I feel like they have delayed it since I’ve heard nothing about it!

I don’t see this happening. Sure, Talisa’s got Robb to be vengeful for, but Cat has what she thinks is literally all of her children plus Ned. I also think LS has a big role to play yet in WOW, and I’ll bet GRRM has mentioned this to D&D. I definitely think Talisa’s role is done

Hey guys i just want to share an opinion i have with the show. I thought just popped into my head, “what if the show made Dany speak all of the languages in the Entire realm of the GOT world except english. Would that add more intrigue and mystique to the character of dany? Do you think she would be more loved? I just imagined how more sexy Dany”s character be. Haha

Well it has been confirmed, that episode 9 of season 4 is going to be the battle of Castle Black. This would leave only one episode to have both the election and Stannis’ offer. Also if the show is truly going to make books 4 and 5 into two pararrel seasons, they’re going to need to save some cool moments for those seasons.

Bah Sakharov. The Climb was the worst episode in three entire seasons. It was just so jarring and out of place. It didn’t feel like an episode of Thrones (and that just commenting about the directing. The writing was also poor in that one).

I hope that Cogman’s writing won’t suffer to much from that. It would be a shame.

Mhysa and Valar Morghulis were unknown words to Unsullied at the time of their airing. It just takes one line of dialogue. I also don’t think episode titles are based on whether or not an Unsullied would recognize what it means.

–The episode could include a couple of pivotal early scenes of Stannis (King 1) a check-in with Mance Rayder (King 2), the death of Balon Greyjoy (King 3), and devote most of the rest of the episode to Joffrey.

If they brought Jason Momoa back for season 2 without any leeks,then they can easily have brought Catelyn to do LS for one scene. Talissa as LS? Come on, when have the writers said they hate the story?

I don’t *actually* know anything, but listening to her commentary track on S3E2 (“Dark Wings, Dark Words”), it kind of sounded like she didn’t get to do much besides the Theon torture scene and wasn’t very happy about it. The others (Jack Gleason, Margery, director, forgot their names sorry) kept complimenting the writing and she kept being like “oh, yeah, I didn’t actually do that.” Then when it gets to the Theon scene she said something like “I had to do a lot of research on medieval torture devices,” in a rather unhappy tone.

IMO there haven’t been any totally bad episodes, but there have been some cringe-worthy scenes. Also, keep in mind how much scenes get shuffled from episode to episode during the final cuts. A writer or director that is credited for an episode probably wrote maybe half of that episode and fractions of several others.

The only big problems I ever have with the show is when they go totally off-book, like most of the Qarth storyline and the Talisa stuff. Invented scenes between non-POV characters are usually fine; it’s almost always something they totally would have said, we just don’t “see” them saying it in the book.

All that to say that I’m pretty stoked about S4, but I’m quite nervous about the “Jon attacks Craster’s” scene and whatever is going to happen with Team Bran and the new Team Rickon. I’m not speculating on episode quality based on writer/director because, like I said, it’s scene by scene and you never really know who wrote what until maybe when the DVD’s come out.

Cogman and Sakharov worked together in ‘What Is Dead May Never Die’ in season 2, which was brilliantly filmed. This was the episode where Theon burned the letter to Robb. That is one of my favorite shots in the entire series.

She did sound a little grumpy in that commentary. At one point she says she was adamantly against the Theon torture scenes but was outvoted by D&D and Cogman.

Honestly, there’s some noticably weaker writing in ‘Garden of Bones’ and ‘Dark Wings, Dark Words’ which makes those my two least favorite episodes (though ‘The Old Gods and the New’ was pretty good). We don’t necessarily know who wrote what just because their name was attached to the episode, but IMO that seems to be a bit much of a coincidence.

If D&D are looking for female writers they should try getting the team of Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, as I’ve said before. Check out their work on Season 4 of Angel in particular, the show’s best season. I started noticing that all the best episodes had their name attached to them. That was also a show that took a ‘fantasy’ concept and made it dark, gritty, and brutal.
Two cents.

I think D&D and Cogman write quite well for female characters. Vanessa Taylor said this, that she’s often miscredited as being ‘the female perspective’ on the show when she does no such thing; she’s just part of the writing team. It’s not like they’re these macho guys who write one-dimensional stuff for the women.

Half the episodes are going to be 9 (or rather, upto 11) in terms of big moments, if what D&D say about 8-10 is anything to go by. Surely they planned the premiere for the 6th so that the Memorial Day break will come between 7 and 8 in particular. Could be coincidence of course, but one can always speculate. Or they might just want to avoid TWD’s finale, which will no doubt rack up thrice the viewing figures ‘Thrones has at the best of times.

I’m liking the choices – they’re pretty much how I would have done it. Thus far, Brian Cogman has been give fairly quiet, dialogue driven episodes, and he has knocked them out of the park. If this continues into Season 4, the middle period of the season will maintain the interest well.

D&D are the founders of the tv show and have the right to write the best moments. And so far, they’ve delivered in spades when it comes to epic moments.

Finally, as we knew before, George is doing the PW. A classic book moment which needs little changing. That’s pretty much perfect for him. Much better than his Season 3 episode, which contained non-canon interactions and slow plot development.

I’ve just gone through each past episode hated and loved and it’s writers and directors and overall I couldn’t be happier with the season four list. I think the complaint that there aren’t female writers is ridiculous – all of Vanessa Taylor’s episodes and Espenson’s episode were truly awful. I’m really glad they haven’t brought them back. I’m also extremely astounded that people are complaining about David and Dan… ALL of my favorite episodes minus one written by GRRM himself (Blackwater) were written by David and Dan. The other writers have nothing on them.

I’m also so thrilled with Alex Graves’ prevalence; he’s by far my favorite director followed by Sakharov. Overall, it should be an incredible season.

But I’m really good with anything as long as we don’t have repeats of episodes like Mhysa, Second Sons, Bear & the Maiden Fair, C B & Broken things, Night Lands, Kissed By Fire, Valar Dohaeris, etc. Bring on the episodes like Baelor, Blackwater, The Climb, and Now His Watch Is Ended, Rains of Castamere, and Fire and Blood!!

I agree that D & D and BCog and GRRM write women well or I wouldn’t be completely obsessed with the books and the show. Not at all about the quality of the writing. I want them to use their power for positive change in the world. I’m looking for the appearance that changes perceptions. They could look a little harder to find a great female writer to put on the team. I want women to see other womeon breaking stereotypes. That’s important to me as a woman of a certain age that has lived with the inequality for a loooong time.

I’ve just thought about all the variations of A Golden Hand/A Golden Chain/Hands of Gold title predictions I’ve seen along with Wherever Whores Go, and initially I was a big fan of both but I don’t see how they can use the former unless they introduce the song (which point we’re way past unless they attribute it to a different singer/situation and even then it would take a lot of introducing, like the Rains of Castamere in season three.) And as far as the latter, I LOVE this title but I think it would make for a much better title for S5E1. That’s when Tyrion will most likely start repeating his father’s words as he did in ADWD and I think thematically and cinematically it would make for a much better opportunity. And as far as The Sword in the Darkness, a prediction for E9 and another title I love, wouldn’t this be the PERFECT title for what I’m presuming will be S6E9 or Jon Snow’s “death”? I know I’m thinking way ahead here, but maybe they are too!

Totally up for debate, my opinion is just my own! But personally I’ve hated the dramatized focus the show put on Ygritte and Jon when it was something so forced and fleeting in the books. Also, I swear the show ends with Daenerys just to end with Daenerys – the Daario pledging service ending was a bland, boring, irrelevant ending IMO.

People saying LS should have appeared in S3, seriously, why?? It would have taken all the sting out of the Red Wedding, it was way too soon. They need to have her appear in the very last scene of this season to create a massive shitstorm, just like in the book.

I don’t think anyone here understands how TV series work as far as writing is concerned. The Showrunners usually rewrite every episode but no credit is given due to WGA rules. So, for example, David Chase wrote episodes of the Sopranos that are credited to the first staff writer who took on a given episode. Even though Chase rewrote the episode it is credited to the staff writer. Its taboo for Showrunners to take or ask for credit on episodes they rewrite because that original writer will now have to share royalties with the showrunner(aka the highest paid person in the writers room). We know GRRM’s S3 episode was retitled after it was decided to edit scenes and add the bear sequence(which I don’t think he wrote). All of this D&D complaining is ridiculous! The way a writers room works is the showrunner dictates the season outline including, depending on the show, specific scenes and dialogue. After that each episode is handed off to a member of the writing staff who gets(per WGA rules) 2 drafts before the showrunner rewrites their work. One writer who worked on The Wire estimated that 20% of his first script ended up on screen, the rest rewritten by David Simon. Now The Sopranos and The Wire are original ideas not beholden to source material so maybe the comparison doesn’t work for GoT but I can take a guess and say that any writer who once wrote for the show but doesn’t any more then D&D had to rewrite. I think season 3 had edited bits and pieces intended for one episode only to be rearranged in post production & show up in a different episode. It happens all the time in serialized TV shows. The RW episode felt like it had a couple scenes from different episodes. Same with episode 6-8(I cant be certain but most Sam and Gilly scenes felt like they were spread really thin. Episode 8 ends with the WW death but I don’t think Sam is in any scenes elsewhere in EP 8 so perhaps 80% of their journey was intended for one episode but broken up to give episode 8 an awesome ending). Don’t knock D&D because chances are they’ve written 80% of the show. TV series are beholden to unions and guilds that require X number of episodes for a “series regular”(billed in opening credits). If they aren’t in X number of episodes then HBO still has to pay them for series regular status. Its all quite complicated and very expensive. What D&D have accomplished with this show is nothing short of a miracle. Movie quality FX? Battle scenes? Dragons? No other network would dare touch this. The sets and costumes are more expensive than most shows entire season budgets!

Hm… so is the purple wedding going to be in episode 2? I thought that would’ve been episode 1, and it still could be, but I assume GRRM is writing that episode. Also, glad to see Neil Marshall as director of episode 9!!!

That probably just means it’s those will be the Latino titles. It’s a common practice. I think in Japan they always use very long verbose titles, so episode 2 might be, “Rose and lion unite: time for purple wedding”.

I do like Breaker of Chains for a title over just Chains, because then it can still have multiple meanings. The Rose and The Lion sounds a bit too similar to 105’s title though. Someone else suggested Monsters and Maidens and for a GRRM-penned episode featuring the wedding and the Ramsay story it makes perfect sense.

Edit: Also, they seem to have published the actual estimate run times. If they’re accurate then we’re in for a fairly long opener and a shorter follow-up.

It was me who suggested “Monsters and Maidens“. I`m glad someone liked it, I felt a bit fan-fictionish coming up with that but I`m glad someone liked it. If it is indeed the Rose and the Lion, I`m cool with that too.

We just haven’t had a great deal of information on what the children do for fun in Westeros. Not everyone can hang out in the KL gardens eating lemon cakes, and there’s never been a single mention of come-into-my-castle or monsters and maidens so far. As the latter’s probably their version of hide and seek it works well with one of Ramsay’s hunts. My best thoughts for a title were 300AL (wrong wrong wrong), The New Century and Roses of Autumn, and I’m also looking forward to any unconfirmed episode titled Songs of the Earth.

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